Views were awesome, and the rooms were clean. Bed not very comfortable, but when was the last time you got a great night's sleep in someone else's bed, anyway? No bathroom fan, so very steamy shower, and somehow the toilet was equipped with an undersized toilet seat (that was kinda weird- I had not ever experienced that before). Could not figure out why the restaurant was not packed, until I had the bourbon chicken cutlet. I have been in the restaurant business for fifty years, and I could not figure out how that "pan seared" chicken was ordered, cooked, and delivered in ten minutes. Could not possibly have been cooked to order. Crazy hard brown crust on both sides, dry and really inedible, served with burnt green beans and a loaded baked potato. The loaded baked potato was excellent! I ended up finishing my wife's pasta, which was advertised as spicy, but actually pretty mild. I requested red pepper flakes, but was told they did not have any. Ooooh Kay. Honestly, I hope they can find a way to match the food to the exceptional view! If so, they will be in great shape. read more

Booked a room, tried checking in and was unable to. First they said they couldn't find the key, so we waited patiently about 20. Several customers came after us and were given a room immediately. We asked why this was happening and the answer was the rooms were assigned rooms? Then they think someone was in the room we were supposed to get? They told us the room had been cleaned but now someone was in it? We continued to wait patiently for them to figure it out. They did inform us that they had no more rooms, yet three times after we tried checking in they continue to assign rooms to people. Its like we are in the twilight zone. At least offer us a drink at the bar or something. We now have been here over an hour and they cannot figure out what to do. My advice is dont book a room here unless you want to gamble sleeping in the car. Place has a great view of the lake and nice TV in the lobby. read more

Great value for the money. Clean, neat rooms with basic needs of fridge, bathroom, microwave. Friendly and helpful front desk clerk. Perfect home base for a weekend visiting the wine trail. read more

The Hotel Laurel at Seneca - Lake view from balcony - Hotels Near Me - Watkins Glen, New York

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You can see Seneca Lake outside your room if you look sideways out the small windows as you are lay in your bed. The rooms are just average. Beds comfortable. Sheets clean. Nice towels. Our bathroom smelled like paint. The carpets had that horrible powder smell. Can't even walk up to the lobby to get a cup of coffee in the morning. Door is locked. But the people are nice. Decent room. Expected a tad more. read more

My partner and I really enjoyed staying at this hotel. The rooms have been redone and they are great - oh yes, they now have a mini fridge and a microwave! All room have a view of Seneca Lake, as well as a private balcony with a table and two chairs. That's the most marvelous thing about staying here. We woke up to the beauty of the lake and also watched it as nightfall arrived. The hotel is up on a hill, so the view is lovely. This location is about a mile from the town of Watkins Glen, so it is quiet and serene. That definitely worked for us. Staff is friendly, and when I return to Watkins Glenn, I will definitely stay here. read more

My husband and I were in town for a few days last weekend. This hotel has been newly renovated and was beautiful. A wonderful view of the lake from the balcony and a microwave and mini fridge, and a very comfortable king sized bed. However, the bathroom was small but very nice with a rain shower head. There was no shelf under the sink to store stuff and no shelf in the shower for shampoo or soap and no safety bar. As some older people might have a hard time bending down or get dizzy, that could be a problem. Also in the lobby I asked for the bathroom and the clerk said it was downstairs and again no safety railing on the stairs. But the bathroom was very nice. read more

This was a last minute booking on our cross country trip, and what a delight it has been! The town of Watkins Glen, Seneca Lake, and all the great wineries are a reason to come, and if you do, I highly recommend the hotel Laurel. It doesn't look like much, but the rooms are recently renovated and very comfortable. We were on the second level and the view of the lake from our balcony was spectacular. We even had a super moon rise right over the lake last night! They have a restaurant on site that looked nice, but we didn't go. They're also working on the pool, so if that's important to you, you should check to see if they finished it. My only issue is the bathroom is quite small and has nowhere to put your stuff. All in all, a very nice place. read more

Rooms were clean and the balcony view is nice. However a pool is advertised but will not be finished and ready for use this summer which was a bummer because it was very hot. The hotel is smoke free and so is the balcony so if you wanted to smoke on the balcony and enjoy the view you can't, however you can smoke outside of that at the picnic tables. The parking lot hasn't been paved in years probably since the hotel before it so drive slowly. Overall the highlight of this place for the season is the lake view read more

The Hotel Laurel at Seneca - Private Balcony - Hotels Near Me - Watkins Glen, New York

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I think everyone who gave this place a poor review must have been having bad trips or wouldn't have been happy no matter where they were. I think this is the cutest darn place! Yes, the property is dated but it is very well maintained and clean as a whistle. Simply getting new bedspreads would make the place a little more modern. The view of the lake is unsurpassed. Two reasons why my review isn't 5 stars is because the restaurant is only open on Fridays and Saturdays and the pool is not heated. You can quibble about not having a frig or a microwave but then again, you're not paying for parking or a dumb resort fee for features you wouldn't use. Totally charming old school motor inn. read more

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This is a very dated property. There is a need for many updates and just general maintenance. Lots of weeds and a parking lot in poor repair are just a few examples. Yes, the view is nice, but it is definitely not worth the premium price they are asking. ($170/night). The room itself was a bit smelly and very dated. Cheap carpet, old and stained bathroom linoleum, paneled walls, shabby 1980s style heavy furniture and worn country calico bedding were just a few of the amenities offered. There were newish windows that opened easily, but the door was sketchy as the handle was very loose when locked. No key cards here. You get two actual keys and the door locks every time you close it, so make sure you have a key on you all the time. We were warned that there is no one I. The office at night, so if you lock yourself out, you are out of luck.. We locked a key in the car (accessible through the keyless entry if needed), and we needed it twice! The room seemed clean. Didn't use the pool, so can't comment on that. The restaurant was not open, so can't comment on that. Continental breakfast as not available due to covid, but we were offered individually wrapped Sarah Lee Danish and coffee cake. Coffee was available by asking the front desk person. We knew this ahead of time and brought a Keurig with us. I gave this property two stars based on the view and the friendly staff. read more

We just stayed here for the weekend and it was awesome! The family that owns this is so great and took time to tell us some history. The view is incredible! Each room has a balcony and you can park right in front of your room. The pool was clean and great to have it overlooking the lake. We have no complaints and would definitely stay here again! read more

My husband and I stayed here for a few days before the 4th of July. I knew going in this place was dated from the reviews but wanted to try it anyways because most of the reviews were positive regardless. We were quite disappointed. We were greeted by a very nice man who told us the property was under new management and nothing was open on the property (restaurant, bar, lounge area, pool). That would have been nice to know in advance. We traveled a very long way and it would have been nice to have just been able to relax at the inn in the restaurant area upon arrival. I do understand the transition of a business under new management can be challenging so we just moved on. Although clean the room was very stuffy and musty smelling. I had to go buy a hair dryer. No amenities in the room except plastic cups and soap/shampoo. I will say the view from our balcony was beautiful...I hope the new management puts some love & care into this place, it has such great potential and is in a perfect location! read more

My family was aching for a getaway that was in our home State of NY, since COVID-19 had forced us to cancel all other trips this year. I found the Glen Motor Inn online. It had amazing views of Seneca Lake, plus a pool for the kids. That is where the amenities end. Spent over $1300 for 5 nights for 2 rooms. Had full bath, 2 full beds, TV. No mini-fridge. No coffee maker. No microwave. Paper ice buckets but no ice machine. No fax machine in the office to send medical forms re: my daughter's upcoming surgery. Had to find a Staples & pay about $30 to fax. Pool had no liner. It was a totally concrete/cement pool that was clearly quite old, as evidence by the giant chips & breaks on the pool floor & walls. On site cafe/restaurant was only open Friday & Saturday evenings. We were there Sunday evening, & were supposed to leave Friday morning. We ended up checking out Thursday afternoon. We were ready to get back to the full comforts of home. Positives: People in the office were very kind. Rooms were clean. Views were amazing. IMHO: It was a lot of money to spend w/o having many of the amenities that are standard at most places we've stayed. read more

Exactly what we wanted. Classic old school motel with beautiful views, a quite room, a comfortable bed, extremely helpful staff, and delicious food. It's overpriced but we are glad we booked two nights. We are already looking forward to beers on the balcony tomorrow after a day of riding through the Finger Lakes. It's true that the infrastructure is old here, but everything is being maintained and steadily improved. I'll take this authentic character and comfort over a chain hotel any day. Remember when you used to be able to open the windows in hotels? You can do that at the Glen Motor Inn. read more

Don't let the pristine view over Senaca lake fool you, this place is really not that nice. The beds were very uncomfortable. Not what I'd call dirty, but also not the cleanest place either. Very old fashioned staff. Continental breakfast was ok( cereal, coffee, toast, yougart) Great pool view of lake, but water was FREEZING. Not that I'm one to complain about cold pool water, but it must have just been filled, because it was really cold. Didn't eat at the restaurant , but it did seem busy and looked pretty good. I prob won't be back however because of the bed situation. $140 a nt for balcony room $130 for no balcony. But seriously balcony is the best part, even if those railings really do need a coat of paint! read more

The Hotel Laurel at Seneca - View from balcony - Hotels Near Me - Watkins Glen, New York

This place's restaurant is awesome. The appetizers were the bomb: fried mozzarella, fried ravioli, and eggplant fries. The entrees were out of the vault of heaven. The eggplant parm was money and the petite filet kept my day sunny. For desert: the tiramisu was great, better than most places actually. Don't even get me started on the view. I would definitely recommend eating here. read more

I don't like to give bad reviews but .... here we go. Very run down. My room was on the lower level and had 1 small window. No balcony as I was in the parking lot. The run down parking lot. The room was dark and dingy. Like a prison cell. These lower level rooms are definitely not worth the price they charge. They said the other rooms were booked yet it was like a ghost town and mid week. The ice machine has issues so bring your own. The pool was closed and empty except for a few bags of cement. The lake is beautiful but the view from where my room was distracted by .... well ... see the pics. If you stay here be sure to make sure your room has a balcony which would be an upper level. Maybe the view and rooms are nicer. read more

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Definitely needs some updating but over all very clean and beautiful view. Beds and pillows were comfortable. I Was disappointed that there was no microwave or fridge in our room. Staff was very friendly and the food at the restaurant was delicious! Wouldn't recommend if you are looking to stay for several days but for 1-2 nights it's a fine place to stay and affordable ! Can't beat the view read more

We have been staying at this 'old school' motel/hotel for about 20 years for our regular visit to the track at Watkins Glen. In small steps each year there are improvements, but there is much to be done. A large infusion of new money would help, but still the people are very nice, the racing history is compelling, and the view of Seneca Lake from the east facing porch area cannot be beat. So, try some history and modest accommodations and stay there if you are at The Glen for wine or fast cars. read more

Awful. Will never stay or eat here again. The rooms are dingy and run down. No coffee maker or fridge in room. Can only open one window. $142 a night for this place is joke. One ice machine up the hill near the restaurant. The towels are like sand paper. The staff is not accommodating at all. There was a water situation in town....water from tap was no drinkable. The people in front of us were given 2 bottles of water. We were not. The restaurant food is sub par, at best. This place needs to be torn down and start over. read more

Despite the spectacular view from the restaurant, this place is definitely one to pass over. First, the decor is vintage 60's...No attempt has been made to recognize that time has passed since this place opened, which may account for the many old folks who choose to dine here. We were definitely the youngest people dining there, on both occasions. The food here is the closest thing to my grade school cafeteria I've ever experienced--no lie! The menu is very limited and extremely predictable, especially for vegetarians. Don't expect anything fancy or original from the chef. Butter and oil abound. I had broiled fish and broccoli. The fish portion was very small and drowning in oil; the broccoli was also killed with butter and looked exactly like the frozen stuff you buy at the grocery store. Our salads were served in those chintzy wood-chip bowls normally reserved for picnics. We tried this place twice and both times my husband and I felt ill after dinner. The only positive thing I can say about this place is that the prices are reasonable and it is very, very quiet. No loud music, or any music for that matter, and no televisions. Do yourself a favor and check out the multitude of other restaurants on the lake instead. read more

Very clean room, very quiet. Bed was firm (ok for us) but pillows were so uncomfortable. Didn't try restaurant or included breakfast so can't comment. Biggest drawback was how unbelievably dated the decor, linens and furnishings are. Like, wow! Be prepared to be transported back to 1972. Our room was also musty, but we didn't notice it after a little while. The tv was a flat screen, but a terrible blurry picture. Two stars only because we both slept well. Considering how much they charge per night, why hasn't this place been updated? read more

This review is about the restaurant, not the motel. A friend and I went here on the recommendation of some racing fans we met at the Seneca Lodge, who said their meal had been wonderful. On the plus side, the staff were friendly, and the view from the dining room, which overlooks Seneca Lake, was fantastic. However, our meal was another story. While the salads were good, and the bread was offered with honey infused butter and olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the main course ranged from mediocre (my friend's stuffed ravioli) to awful. What was awful was my pan seared salmon, which was cooked to the point of having the consistency and taste of cardboard. When asked by the waitress towards the end of our meal how it was, I told her about my mostly uneaten salmon. She offered to call the manager for us, but we simply paid the bill and left, never to return. The view IS great, and maybe there are better choices on the menu, but I will never know. read more